Friday Shuffle - Time to Pack Edition
Last Saturday after I got home from my trip to Hannover B asked me if I'd like to move. He wasn't sure how the conversation got started but sometime while I was gone he got to talking with my MIL and Gerd about us moving.
And just as soon as B mentioned the idea to me I became very enthusiastic.
You longtime readers will remember all the trouble I had with my former neighbors at our old building. If you don't know the story dig back into my archives starting in April 2005 and read through to the time when we moved in November 2005. Anyway, over time I've been a little dissatisfied with my flat. I hate my kitchen. I make no bones about that. I had a perfect kitchen at my old flat and now my kitchen is so small that I couldn't cuss a cat without getting a hair in my mouth. I'm not thrilled that I don't have a real view from my living room window and balcony. And then there are some problems with my neighbors. The people who live above me play the piano every day, sometimes for four or five hours at a time. The new guy who moved in at the end of my hall and his buddies leave their bikes in front of the mailboxes and they slam the door - usually between 2:00 and 3:00 AM. And someone keeps smoking in the elevator. That's the one that really irks me. I mean that one is beyond rule breaking and has entered the realm of illegal.
Back when we were looking for a new flat in 2005 we had considered moving a little closer to the old market square than we are now. The apartments there are the ones that were first built after the war and were always the ones that were the hardest to get. I had been afraid to live in them though because I was afraid that they'd be expensive to heat and I didn't know how well I'd do with living in the busiest part of the city. We settled on a flat that's about two blocks up from where we'd considered living and while it's not a bad flat, it simply doesn't have any personality.
I now like the idea of getting just that much closer to the center of town. Now that I know what it's like living down here I think it's something I could do with more intensity. Not just be a block away from all the action but be in the middle of it. So for the last week B and I have been looking online at available flats in that area. The street we'd most like to live on doesn't have any available flats but there's one around the corner that's available and we've reserved it for two weeks so that no one can rent it out from under us until we make a final decision. It's in a Stalinbau building - it's a style that was used in East Germany right after the war that's based upon a building style in Moscow. That means the walls are much thicker than the normal Plattenbau - buildings made of concrete plates and what is the most common style in the east. The flat we're interested in is on the 5th floor, is directly across the street from the mall, and has gated parking in the courtyard. The flat is about the same amount of square meters as we have now but it has one room less and no balcony so that means the rooms are larger. And would I be closer to the Christmas market? Ohhh baby. It hardly can be closer. The Christmas market wraps around three sides of the building (it's a huge building that covers the whole block) - the side where it's not located is the side where my front door would be.
The flat was recently vacated and is now being renovated and I have an appointment to view it next Friday. It's by no means a done deal. The elevator has to be easily accessable for B, all the doors have to be wide enough for his electric wheelchair to pass and we simply have to like it. Unlike the last time we moved we're not desperate and pressed for time. If for some reason we don't want to move to this flat, we'll find another but in any case, it looks like that sometime soon I'll be getting a new address.
I'll do anything to get out of washing the windows, won't I?
On to the shuffle.
- We Own The Night - The Donnas
- Suffragette City - David Bowie
- And She Was - Talking Heads
- Where Is My Mind? - Pixies
- I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
- Island In The Sun - Weezer
- Mr. E's Beautiful Blues - Eels
- Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad - Tammy Wynette
- Five O'Clock World - The Vogues
- Norwegian Wood - The Beatles
posted by Dixie at 11:34 PM
9Comments:
"my kitchen is so small that I couldn't cuss a cat without getting a hair in my mouth". How exciting to be moving. I plan to next year. My kitchen is also small and it sure would be nice to have a 'real' one!
oh good luck.how exciting.but i am wondering wouldnt it be much more noisy if you are living in the middle of a very busy area?
Before we moved to this area we were worried about the noise and that's why we decided not to try to move to that building in the first place. Now that we've lived in the area for nearly 4 years we've discovered that it's not as noisy as one may believe. We already live with a streetcar track running in front of our building and when the windows are closed you can't hear it and it would be the same way at the new place (a streetcar track runs in front of that building as well. The market square is on the other side of the building so we wouldn't really hear that and we're already used to that noise because during festivals the market is moved up to run along the street we live on now. The only noisy time would be during the annual city festival and that's only 4 days out of the year. Plus we'd live up on the 5th floor and it would be quieter. The Stalinbau buildings are built out of brick instead of concrete plates and so they block out more noise from the street and from other flats in the building.
That American urge to move every few years is a strong one, isn't it? I really like where we live now, but I'm really looking forward to moving again... soon!
I can't wait until you get to see it - let us know what happens. TAKE A CAMERA, PLEASE!!
Sugar Fluff
I'll definitely have a camera with me, Lis. B's not going with me so I have to take a lot of detailed photos so he can see it. If I like it I'll make another appointment for B to come with me and then we'll make a final decision.
B and I can hardly talk about anything else but moving. I'm trying not to get my hopes up in case this flat won't be suitable for us but I can only imagine us living there.
How exciting! I love the (slightly voyeuristic) thrill of looking at other people's houses, even when they're not there anymore. So much fun :-) And the best news, like you said, is that you're not in a rush or on a deadline. Even better. Good luck!
This is so cool! Christina G. is moving, I'm moving, and now you and B! You realize this means it came in three's and that makes it especially potent. I predict you'll get exactly what you want and need.
Speaking of, we made an application for a new place this past Friday and today we hear whether or not we got it. Keep your fingers crossed for me if you got any extra.
I stayed in my old place for six years until I had finally had enough. Now I live in Old Town and I don't regret it at all (two minutes from the Christmas Market). I really like my place, but don't know how long I'll be able to stay here (rent increases, etc). However, I've already decided that if I do have to move, I will definitely stay in the same area.
Granted, I don't have the need you do to live close to everything, but when I walk out my front door and see a church right across from me that dates back 1,000 years, I smile. Every time.
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